Thursday, 24 October 2013

Plane lands safely on hatch of Hartman ShipLiving in England Dutchman Jaap Rademaker landed last week with his sport aircraft on the high seas on the hatch covers of the project cargo vessel Oceanic Thursday, 24.Oct.2013, 11:26 (GMT+3)Plane lands safely on shutters Hartman Ship

Living in England Dutchman Jaap Rademaker landed last week with his sport aircraft on the high seas on the hatch covers of the project cargo vessel Oceanic (92.9 x 15, 3500 dwt) of Hartman Marine subsidiary Global Seatrade in Urk. Moments later Rademaker also rose again from the ship.

He is the first aviator who ever did this from the hatch of a cargo ship.

Maersk increases old November rate hike from US$600/TEU to $950/TEUMAERSK Line will increase its Asia-Europe rate US$950 per TEU from November, the company announced, having already announced a $600 increase, which has now been replaced by the higher rate.Wednesday, 09.Oct.2013, 22:08 (GMT+3)Maersk increases old November rate hike from US$600/TEU to $950/TEU

MAERSK Line will increase its Asia-Europe rate US$950 per TEU from November, the company announced, having already announced a $600 increase, which has now been replaced by the higher rate.

"Maersk Line continues to face unsustainable market rates and the rapid decline of rates in the past few weeks has made it apparent that the previously announced increase of $600 per TEU will be insufficient to run the service at financially viable levels," the company statement said.Source: Sea News, Turkey.

CHINA Shipping Container Lines' (CSCL) containerships have started calling at APM Terminals Zeebrugge after buying 24 per cent of the Belgian container terminal.

The 14,074-TEU CSCL Star, on the AEX7 service loop, was the first China Shipping vessel to call at the terminal, reports UK's Port Technology International.

Said APM Terminals Zeebrugge managing director Mark Geilenkirchen: "This new service adds more supply chain options for importers and exporters in the Hamburg-Le Havre range, and we will apply our high productivity skills to these vessels and the future 18,400 TEU ships from CSCL."

In addition to the Shanghai-based CSCL stake, APM Terminals holds a 51 per cent controlling share in APM Terminals Zeebrugge, with the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) holding the remaining 25 per cent.Source: Sea News, Turkey.

Maersk Line sees shipping overcapacity lingering for five more yearsOVERCAPACITY in the shipping industry will remain for the next five years, according to a senior executive of Maersk Line, who stressed the need to remove capacity to create demand.Sunday, 06.Oct.2013, 22:37 (GMT+3)Maersk Line sees shipping overcapacity lingering for five more years

OVERCAPACITY in the shipping industry will remain for the next five years, according to a senior executive of Maersk Line, who stressed the need to remove capacity to create demand.

"We will without doubt in five years time from now have an industry with plentiful capacity," Maersk Line CEO Soren Skou told the Reuters Nordic Investment Summit recently. "We cannot create demand by lower prices. It is more important to remove capacity," he said.

When the economic crisis hit in 2008, global trade and shipping companies' orders for new vessels were as much as 50 per cent of the existing fleet. The overcapacity has driven spot rates on the main routes between Asia and Northern Europe to loss-making levels, according to Reuters.

Maersk Line cut its fleet container capacity by about 1 per cent between the second quarter of 2012 and the same period this year, but it has not announced any plans to cut further.

Only two of the 12 big container shipping lines, Maersk Line and France's CMA CGM, reported an operating profit in the first six months of 2013. Before the crisis, Maersk Line and other container shipping companies had growth in demand for seaborne containers of more than 10 per cent a year. But those days will not return, Mr Skou said.

"Growth in the container industry in the future is more related to global economic growth," he said. He said he expected global demand for seaborne containers to increase 2-3 per cent in 2013.

Parent AP Moller-Maersk Group lowered a near-term profitability target (return on invested capital) for Maersk Line to 8.5 per cent per year from 10 per cent last week. The long-term profitability target for the container business was held at 10 per cent.

To cope with the tough market conditions, Maersk Line managed to reduce total costs per container by 12.7 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier. The decrease was mainly driven by lower fuel costs and logistical route efficiencies.

In addition, the company has ordered 20 Triple-E class mega vessels with a capacity of 18,270 TEU each. The vessels use 50 per cent less fuel per container than the average container ships deployed on routes between Asia and Europe. "And they are 20 per cent more fuel efficient than Emma-class ships that are the biggest and most efficient at the moment," said Mr Skou.

Friday, 4 October 2013

'Marvellous' ships on show in fleet display seen once in 100 years

The Royal Australian Navy's HMAS Parramatta sails past the Sydney Opera House yesterday for the weekend's international celebrations.

WHEN the Royal Australian Navy sailed its fledgling fleet into Sydney Harbour on October 4, 1913, seven ships manned by more than 2400 officers dazzled thousands of spectators on the water's edge.

Led by HMAS Australia, the country's first navy arrived in the early morning in a long grey line, appearing one by one from the misty sea air.

Exactly 100 years later an even grander vision played out on the harbour as 37 warships made their way through the heads yesterday and joined 16 tall ships in Sydney's sun for the once-in-a-century International Fleet Review.

The event celebrates Australia's independence and commemorates the sacrifice of personnel lost at sea, as the nation hosts ships from 17 countries, including the US, China, France and Japan. The review spectacular will also feature more than 60 aircraft, 10 military bands, 8000 sailors and a fireworks display on Sydney Harbour.

Governor-General Quentin Bryce will be joined today by Prince Harry, who arrived in Sydney last night, on board the HMAS Leeuwin. The pair will review the international fleet and receive a 100-gun salute as they sail around the harbour.

Ms Bryce, representing Australia's head of state, the Queen, received a 21-gun salute yesterday when she officially welcomed the warships, and the helicopter display team and air force Roulettes were on display.

The event has been a case of history repeating itself for 92-year-old Jack Langrell, whose father, John, was aboard HMAS Australia 100 years ago. "It made me very proud, naturally," he told The Weekend Australian yesterday. "I just pictured the battleship (HMAS Australia) coming around Bradleys Head. I've got a great love, respect and admiration for the navy."

Jack is one of the few remaining sons and daughters of the RAN's first officers and sailors and has had navy in his blood since the day he was born at the Royal Australian Naval College in Jervis Bay. He watched the warships arrive from Garden Island, where his father became the sergeant for the Naval Dockyard Police.

While Jack and his children and grandchildren marked yesterday as a momentous occasion, he said his father had not made a big deal of the 1913 event. "It was just one of those things he would have accepted as a little bit odd but more or less normal. But Dad loved the navy, it's a great life."

Jack joined the RAN at 16 as a canteen assistant and was serving on HMAS Australia (II) as a canteen manager when it came under attack during the Battle of the Coral Sea in World War II. He will be on Garden Island again today as the review gets under way to see the "marvellous" ships.

An RAN spokeswoman yesterday confirmed the Canadaian navy had pulled out of the review. She declined to comment on whether this was because of the collision of two of its warships en route to Hawaii in August.

About 1.7 million people are expected to attend the historic maritime event, which will run until Friday.